Sunday, July 25, 2010

The most magical place on earth.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was to visit my grandparents in Florida. They lived an hour from Walt Disney World and like every other kid, it was one of my favorite places to go. It is the most magical place on earth, no?

My kids are lucky enough to have their grandparents now living near Walt Disney World, so Mason and Payton have been several times. Last week ... however ... we were there for an another reason.

For the past several years, we have attended the National Down Syndrome Convention ... and this year, it was held at Walt Disney World. What could be better than mixing all things Down syndrome with all things Mickey?

We have not been on a plane since before we adopted Nika ... the kids were so excited and it was fun to fly with Mason, now that he is a little older and understands the concept of flying.

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Since we have always had family living so close to Disney, we have never actually stayed at a Disney resort. Until now. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort, which is where the Down syndrome convention was held.

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We vacationed with friends and took my cousin with us to help care for the kids in the evening ... ya know, so we could have adult time. It was so nice to be able to spend that time with our friends without having to keep track of the kids.

Our first day there, we tackled Magic Kingdom. It was so hot ... and so magical! Ha.

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Buzz Lightyear ... one of our favorite rides. Who doesn't love the black light effect?

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It's a Small World ... quite possibly the most nostalgic ride at Walt Disney World.

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And because I know you want to be singing it's a small world after all ... live streaming ...



Mickey's house ...

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We got disability passes for the girls ... it was such a lifesaver. Aside from allowing us to not have to keep the girls entertained in long lines and trying to prevent Nika from overheating ... we did not wait longer than 10 minutes at any attraction ... and that included the character meet and greets.

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I noticed that the characters took extra time with our girls, took extra pictures and just stepped it up a notch. After hearing later that they tend to do this with kids who have disabilities, I thought that was pretty awesome. Not that I think my girls deserve any more attention than Mason or any other kid does, but I can't lie ... it is nice to have them get a little extra attention given their hurdles in life.

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The kids were troopers the entire day. No meltdowns when meeting characters, they braved all the big rides ... we really had a magical day. Ha.

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My absolute favorite ... the electrical parade. I wonder how much it has changed since I was a kid?

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The $15 rip off light up thing-er-ma-jigs ... we brought some with us, so how is it that we had to buy more when we got there? Sigh. I think it completes the atmosphere of the parade ... yeah, that's it.

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And nothing tops off a night at Magic Kingdom like fireworks at the castle ...

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Magical.

17 comments:

  1. Oooh - I'm so jealous. Except of the heat.

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  2. OK, so maybe you'll be posting about it next, but, what do they discuss at the convention? Is it more educational or social? Just wondering :)

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  3. That looks like an awesome trip! The kids are adorable! I love all of their smiles!

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  4. Looks like you had a blast! Good to know about the disability thing- we won't be going back until B is a little older but will take advantage of that! Love all the pics- your kids are adorable!!!

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  5. Glad you had such a great time! Fantastic pictures!

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  6. that looks like an amazing trip. i love that they spent extra time with your girls. i can't wait till we make that trip someday. awesome pictures!

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  7. Awesome pics!! Wish we could have been there :)

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  8. I am so JEALOUS!!! Looks like you all had a wonderful time!! And yes, it is the most magical place on earth. Maybe next year:)

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  9. I got chills reading this post...you made it feel so magical indeed! Your girls are beautiful and glad to hear that you all had such a great time together!

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  10. Oh my goodness... how fun! I really hope to attend one of the conventions sometime!

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  11. Great pictures Bethany! It was magical and we had such a great time all of you! Your kids are amazing and we just love them!!

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  12. oh i have always wanted to go to disney, and you should see Elias excitment with the castle and firewors when a disney movie begans (and is even more if its in 3d) im sure he will be so excited if he sees it in real!

    but my husband hate all that kind of places with hot+a lot pof people + waiting, but now that we know about the disabilitiy passes i guess we should try it =)

    the pictures are great, and looks like you all had so much fun =)

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  13. I was thinking of you when we were at disney world a few weeks ago...my husband had a work conference there so I went with him and wished we could have afforded to take the kids too! I really wanted to go to the ds convention there! I know what you mean about the characters paying extra attention to our kiddos....we notived that in disneyland last year with Bree. Looks like a fabuloug trip!!

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  14. So glad you guys had a good time!

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  15. So awesome! I plan to go to Disney some day and a convention too!

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  16. Sounds and looks like it was a really great trip!! Maybe next year we'll attempt a convention... And, BTW, your kids are SO beautiful- each and every one of them. Truly stunning.

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  17. Great pics. Looks like it was a fun trip. One of these years we'll make it to the convention.
    ---Jen

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